CARLOS VALDEZ
Associated Press
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Animal rights activists are demanding a Bolivian military college fire an instructor who butchered a live dog before his students and then smeared its blood on their faces.
Susana del Carpio of the group Animales SOS says students at La Paz’s School of Military Engineering reported the instructor gutted the dog Saturday during a class for new cadets. The slaying of the 2-year-old mixed-breed dog has sparked an outcry in Bolivian media and on social networks.
Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra has said the instructor would be penalized for violating a ban on using animals for military instruction. Del Carpio said Tuesday the instructor was suspended for four days, a punishment she decried as a “joke.”
Activists say animals have been abused in advanced military courses to desensitize soldiers.
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